uebtootoo200901

Biodiesel developer may hit a gusher

2008-06-10T09:39:12+02:00

A Bad Axe entrepreneur appears to be making all the right moves to build a $65 million plant that could pump out 20 million gallons of biodiesel fuel a year by late 2010 or early 2011. Connecticut transplant Bill Moran, founder and CEO of HuronBiofuels, sure chose the right spot for his venture near Elkton .The Thumb and nearby counties are the heart of Michigan Soybean Oil country. Dead-center in Michigan's largest dairy region. Bingo: With fuel for transportation costly, soybean farmers maylook to a nearby market for their crop. Dairy farmers who usecrushed soybeans from oil processing wouldn't have far to go fortheir high-protein feed. Moran plans to build in two phases: One, to make soybean oil,possibly for use in food if the fuel market is bad; the second, toprocess that oil into biodiesel fuel. He has experience in multimillion-dollar projects, came to the areaseveral years ago with the wind energy industry's NobleEnvironmental Power and says he has most of his financing lined up. Moran has discussed his project with the only other soybean oilplant in the area, Thumb Oilseed Producers Cooperative of Ubly, andthere don't appear to be conflicts with the markets for eachplant's products. He's now seeking government permits. With one eye on agriculture and the other on fuel, Huron Biofuel'sfounder may strike a gusher with soybean oil processing. Whether used for food or fuel, it all would be good for soybean oilfrom Huron Biofuels. Its 60 new jobs and potential to increase our area's growingalternative energy sector would be very, very good for our localeconomies. Just a little fuel - or food - for thought.

The Five This Week Tentacl-Icious has been build

2008-06-10T09:38:22+02:00

1) A high-performance PC. Something peppy, with multiple hardwaregraphics accelerators onboard and a dedicated LCD display on thefront that tells you how heavily you've overclocked the CPU and howmuch longer you can keep the fuel rods out of the containmentvessel before the whole thing goes supercritical. 2) A consumer PC, for reality checks. Because Shredded Squid runs greaton the fastest machine in the office. 3) A high-performance desktop Mac. No matter what anybody might sayabout the Mac OS' market share, as Apple's fortunes have risen andfallen and risen again one thing has remained constant: Appleremains the Mississippi bluesman of the tech world. Bacon SqueezinsCupertino Slim starts messing around with a rhythm progression hecalls the "Rimfire E-flat fill" and two years later, it shows up onhalf the tracks on the Billboard 100. 4) A Linux box. In many ways, Linux is the twitchy little furrymammal who scurries out of the way of all of the three-tondinosaurs who are making a big mess out of the steamy jungles ofCretaceous-era South Dakota. True, it's still a nerd OS and it'syet to become as important or relevant to the average consumer asWindows or Mac OS. Nonetheless, the asteroids are on their way. Thedinosaurs won't survive unless they learn to grow fur.

Candy and horses make delicious sweet combo

2008-06-10T09:36:32+02:00

As far as I know, he is the first horse to have his own chocolate trading card, said Owen, who is the president and sales manager of Chocoversity. We thought we would start small, but we should be doing some significant business by the summer and fall. We re in with some major organizations and our products will hopefully be prominently shown during the upcoming sports seasons. Owen and his wife, Margot, used the parent company s products for their wedding in November, which led to the business venture. After the wedding I got so many calls from people who wanted toknow where we got the chocolate, Owen said. Realizing there was alot of interest, we stepped in. Most popular items created by Chocoversity are chocolate lollipops,business cards, and coins. The company also can produce round orsquare CDs. An average of 75 pieces an hour can be made. The technology might enable horse owners to have chocolate productsmade featuring their horses, not unlike the turn of the 20 th century when horse owners frequently had their horses images puton cigar boxes. Owen would like to work out deals with racetrack sohe can use winner s circle photos on his chocolates. He hopes to dodemonstrations during Hambletonian Week (July 28-August 2) at theMeadowlands Racetrack. Probably the greatest thing about the technology is that it sportable, Owen said. Not only does it allow us to print logos,but we can come live to any event and take someone s picture rightthere and in two minutes they can have their own personalizedlollipop. You take the picture and we can run 10 lollipops at atime. Once it runs, you can take your lollipop candy right with you.

The Flip Side of Phosa's Call On BEE

2008-06-10T09:35:36+02:00

Phosa, who wields considerable influence after his election to the top five of the ANC leadership at Polokwane, said it was time to upthe ante on empowerment when state tenders are awarded,highlighting the route the new ANC leadership may want to take to harness billions of rands awarded in state tenders to give further impetus to the state's empowerment drive. The call adds pressure on the treasury to amend the Prefer entail Public Procurement Framework Act (PPPFA) to give more weight to empowerment when state tenders are awarded. Administered by the treasury, the act prescribes an 80:20 weighting in the assessmentof tenders, with contracts being awarded predominantly based on price, while empowerment accounts for the balance. But local manufacturers, already jittery that procurement processesin the private sector favour empowerment credentials over localcontent, fear that bigger emphasis on black economic empowerment inpublic procurement processes could further disenfranchise them. Local manufacturers across the spectrum increasingly complain thatthey are losing out to empowered suppliers who import products andthen rely on their empowerment credentials to secure contracts inthe private sector. In terms of one of the key elements of the empowerment scorecard --preferential procurement -- companies score points proportional tothe amount of money they spend with empowered companies. However, the procurement spend component has no local contentspecification and commentators say an intermediary sector ofempowered importers has sprung up, where empowerment players importgoods -- often cheaply from China -- add a margin which stillundercuts the price of locally produced goods, and secure contractson the basis of their empowerment status. "These companies add no value and employ few people but arefavoured because their prices are competitive and they come with Bee Product," one commentator says. When the then trade and industry minister, Alec Erwin, introducedthe BEE scorecard in 2003 he hailed it as a "carrot ratherthan stick" approach, where non-compliant companies would notbe directly penalised by government but would rather pay acommercial price because they would be excluded from commercialopportunities. However, even empowered local manufacturers are being hurt by theunintended consequences of the procurement rules. Essentially, the situation means two of the state's key policydirectives -- the empowerment policy and the national industrialpolicy framework -- are fundamentally at odds. The BEE code isundermining a key objective in the industrial policy to advancelocal manufacturing capacity. As the roll-out of the industrial policy framework gains momentum,one of its core objectives is to boost downstream manufacturingcapacity. One of the prime reasons for this approach is themanufacturing sector's potential to create jobs in an economy where40% of people, by the unofficial definition, are unemployed. Interms of the accelerated and shared growth initiative (Asgi-SA) thegovernment hopes to halve unemployment by 2014. Explosives manufacturer AEL, a subsidiary of chemicals group AECI,is a case in point. The company supplies a product mainly to themining industry and has lost substantial market share toempowerment company Lakho, which imports shock tubes from China andhas forced down prices in the local market by between 30% and 35%.And even though empowerment consortium Tiso has a 25,1%-stake inAEL, the company has not been able to win back market share. In the meantime, the company has learned that the shock tubesimported by Lakho enjoy a 15% export subsidy from the Chinesegovernment, an incentive that contravenes World Trade Organisationrules. AEL filed anti-dumping applications with the International TradeAdministration Commission (Itac), which is responsible forfacilitating fair trade, but has had no success.

New energy-saving dosing system for the production

2008-06-10T09:34:41+02:00

Bosch Packaging Technology introduces a continuously operating do sing system for the production of sugar-glucose solutions for hard and soft candies. The BDK 2000 A's waterless boiling method dissolves sugar using the water content of glucose syrup. Thisinnovative and energy-saving concept preserves resources and reduces operating costs. The integrated TurboMixx unit mixes liquid and solid ingredients to create an even consistency. The resulting sugar paste has adry-substance content of up to 90%, which is approximately 10% morethan a conventional system would produce. This means that only afurther 3% to 7% of water must be evaporated from the paste inorder to achieve the desired dry-substance content for hard andchewing candy of 97% and 93%, respectively. During the productionof 1000 kilograms of candy paste this will save up to 90 kilowatthours. After processing by the TurboMixx unit, the paste isdissolved under pressure in the Bosch Rapidsolver heat exchanger toprevent crystal formation. The BDK 2000's design makes it easy to clean and also ensuresquality and safety during production. The boiling process only requires entering three parameters:output, sugar-glucose content and dry-substance content. Operationcan be started, interrupted and restarted at the push of a button. The BDK 2000 A is available in two versions with output levels ofup to 2000 kilograms per hour. The basic version offers volumetricdosing of all ingredients, while the gravimetric version uses flowcontrol units and load cells for precise and failure-safeoperation. The BDK 2000 A ensures a continuous production processwithout requiring a large buffer volume.

Full-cream milk dearer by Re 1 in NCR

2008-06-10T09:33:39+02:00

Delhiites now have to pay more for their daily glass of milk as two of the country's largest players in the dairy segment have increased prices of their fresh packed full-cream milk in the region. National Dairy Development Board subsidiary, Mother Dairy and Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) better knownas 'Amul' have raised prices of Full Cream Milk sold in the National Capital Region (NCR) by Re 1 per litre. Both companies have increased the retail prices of only full-creammilk, containing six per cent fat and nine per cent solids-not-fat(SNF), from Rs 24 to Rs 25 per litre. "Price of the full-cream milk has been increased by rupee one perlitre effective from today," GCMMF spokesperson told PTI. This marks the sixth such increase undertaken by these companies inthe last two and half year period and neither of them have givenany reason behind the increase. However, both the companies have left the prices of toned milk(three per cent fat and 8.5 per cent SNF) rate at Rs 20 a litre. Since February 2006, prices of full-cream milk have gone up from Rs19 to Rs 25 a litre and while the prices of toned milk has movedfrom Rs 15 to Rs 20 during the same period. Mother Dairy and Amul together accounts for the bulk of NCR'sestimated requirement of about 40 lakh litres per day. National

Menthol loophole would hurt African and Americans

2008-06-10T09:32:31+02:00

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act awaitingaction by Congress has the potential to advance tobacco control forall Americans —- but only if Congress corrects serious flawsthat provide a major win for big tobacco and abandonAfrican-Americans to choke in a thick cloud of Food Flavor dcigarette smoke. The bill, which gives the Food and Drug Administration limitedauthority to regulate tobacco products, bans the use of allartificial or natural flavors in cigarettes —- exceptmenthol. That's a loophole big enough for a herd of wild animals to rompthrough. Menthol is by far the most popular "flavor" forcigarettes, and mentholated cigarettes are big business for tobaccocompanies, including a major proponent of the bill, Philip MorrisUSA. This loophole especially undermines the health ofAfrican-Americans. Nearly 75 percent of African-American smokersuse menthol cigarettes. An American Legacy Foundation survey foundthat among teen smokers, 81 percent of African-Americans smokementhol cigarettes compared with only 32 percent of whites and 45percent of Hispanics. And we know that 90 percent of adult smokersare hooked as teens. Tobacco companies know one of the most effective ways to boostsales is to make cigarettes more palatable to first-time smokers,notably children and teens, by disguising the unpleasant taste ofinhaled smoke and adding a fresh, minty flavor and cooling effect.They also know that menthol flavoring may make it more difficultfor smokers to quit. It is no secret that African-Americans have long been targeted bybig tobacco marketing efforts with menthol cigarettes, a strategythat has proven disturbingly effective. In 1990, the launch of R.J.Reynolds' menthol-flavored Uptown cigarettes in Philadelphia wasplanned to coincide with the celebration of Black History Month. One of us (Louis Sullivan), then U.S. secretary of Health and HumanServices, vehemently denounced the target marketing of thisproduct, the first time a Cabinet member spoke out against aspecific cigarette brand. With strong opposition from the publichealth profession and the African-American community, R.J. Reynoldsbackpedaled and withdrew Uptown cigarettes from the market. But, like leopards in the jungle, cigarette companies never changetheir spots. Today, R.J. Reynolds is test-marketing a new productcalled Camel Crush, a "menthol-on-demand" cigarette where thesmoker can bite down or crush the menthol capsule in the filter togive them anywhere from a small burst to an extreme rush of mentholflavor —- the perfect mask for tobacco's harsh flavor and acynical ploy to entice young smokers. The tag for the marketingpush will be "Squeeze. Click. Change." "Change" is reminiscent oflanguage being used by a Democratic presidential candidateespecially popular among young African-Americans —-subliminal marketing, to say the least. Smoking-related diseases are a leading cause of death for blackAmericans: Each year more than 47,000 die from smoking-relatedcancers, strokes, heart diseases and respiratory ailments likeemphysema. Thousands more are crippled by these diseases. TheCenters for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more blackwomen get lung cancer than breast cancer and black men are 50percent more likely to get lung cancer than white men. Banning flavored cigarettes, which mask the harshness of tobacco—- something that can deter some first-time smokers,especially children —- is a positive move. But by failing toban menthol, the bill caves to the financial interests of tobaccocompanies and blatantly discriminates against African-Americans—- the segment of our population at greatest risk for killingand crippling cancers and cardiovascular diseases. To make the pending tobacco legislation truly effective, mentholcigarettes should be treated the same as other flavored cigarettes—- banned so they can no longer serve as a product thetobacco companies can use to lure African-American children. The FDA should also be given full authority to reduce the nicotinecontent of tobacco products to zero; several hundred milliondollars a year should be provided for education, counter-marketingand tobacco-cessation programs; and all payments on behalf of thetobacco industry for product placements or depictions of smoking infilms and on television should be banned. We do everything we can to protect our children in America,especially our white children. Isn't it time to do the same for allchildren? > Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., is president emeritus of MorehouseSchool of Medicine. He was secretary of Health and Human Servicesunder President George H.W. Bush. Joseph A. Califano Jr. ispresident of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuseat Columbia University. He was secretary of Health, Education andWelfare in the Carter administration. William S. Robinson isexecutive director of the National African American TobaccoPrevention Network.

The Chocolate Watch band released their first twosingles

2008-06-10T09:31:40+02:00

The Chocolate Watchband: No Way Out by Adam Bunch The Chocolate Watchband No Way Out (Sundazed, 1967) 1967 was supposed to be the year the Chocolate Material Watchband finallymade it big. They had spent the last couple of years graduallyclimbing their way to the top of San Francisco's R&B scene.They had paid their dues and put in their work; now it was time forthings to pay off. By the end of 1966, their raw, raucous, RollingStones-y sound had landed them gigs alongside Jefferson Airplaneand Captain Beefheart. They had released their first twosingles

Marjorie Milne swore off sugar 10 years ago

2008-06-10T09:30:52+02:00

Marjorie Milne swore off sugar 10 years ago, but she still indulgesher sweet tooth without regret. She does it without using saccharine, aspartame or any of thosepink, yellow and blue packets of artificial sweeteners. Chemicallyengineered sugar substitutes aren’t her thing. Instead, she reaches for a plant-based substance called stevia,which is said to be 300 times sweeter than table sugar and has gotten a reputation as the Intensive Sweetener of choice for people withdiabetes and those on low-carb diets. Sharon Schulman, owner of Gentle Strength Wellness Education &Herb Shop in Colorado Springs, and her husband are such stevia fansthat they won’t leave home without a stash. She carries a small vial of the liquid form in her purse. "I use it to sweeten my water," she says. "In the summer, putting one or two drops in my water bottle helps me drink more water dueto the great flavor. My husband takes a baggy full of the smallpackets everywhere he goes to sweeten anything he drinks that need sit." Stevia is "an all-natural, calorie-free sweetener that is suitablefor diabetics, safe for children, and does not cause cavities,"according to Ray Sahelian and Donna Gates, authors of "The SteviaCookbook" (Avery, 2004). So where are all the ads proclaiming the wonders of stevia? Whereare all the packaged sugarfree products - puddings, ice cream,cereals, hot chocolate packets - boldly announcing their switch tostevia? Turns out this food product is not considered a food at all - atleast not by the U.S. government. Instead, it’s categorizedas a dietary supplement, making it something of a subversive amongsweeteners. A lengthy history Stevia - Stevia rebaudiana, in taxonomical terms - is a bushy plantthat grows wild in South America. Its leaves have a very sweettaste and were thought to have been used by pre-Colombian Indiantribes in South America. A Swiss botanist of Italian descent, Moises Santiago Bertoni,learned of the plant from Indian guides while exploring Paraguay in1887. Excited about the discovery, he started an intensive study ofthe plant. "In placing in the mouth the smallest particle of any portion ofthe leaf or twig," he wrote, "one is surprised at the strange andextreme sweetness contained therein. A fragment of the leaf only afew millimeters in size suffices to keep the mouth sweet for anhour; a few small leaves are sufficient to sweeten a strong cup ofcoffee or tea." The plant was presented to the United States Department ofAgriculture in 1921 as a "new sugar plant with great commercialpossibilities," but no one took much interest. Then, in 1931, theplant got noticed in France, where two chemists isolated thecompounds that give the stevia leaf its sweet taste. Still, it would take five more decades before anyone north of theequator really figured out what to do with it - and it wasn’tanyone from the United States or France. The Japanese started using stevia as a tabletop sweetener andsweetener for all sorts of foods, including ice cream, bread, candies, pickles, seafood, vegetables and softdrinks. By 1988, Japanese food products sweetened with steviaaccounted for about 41 percent of sweetened foods made in thecountry. The stevia boom in Japan began to get the attention of U.S. foodmanufacturers in the mid-1980s, including Boulder, Colo.-basedCelestial Seasonings, which uses crushed stevia leaves in a few ofits herbal teas. Stevia also caught the attention of the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration, which in 1987 issued a ban on its use because ithad not been approved as a food additive. That started severalyears of wrangling between natural-food advocates and thegovernment. In 1995, the FDA issued a statement allowing stevia to be used as adietary supplement, and that’s how it has to be labeled. Hitting the kitchen Call it what you want - dietary supplement, plant, sketchy foodproduct. Whatever it is, it’s found a small but devotedfollowing in U.S. kitchens. "I’ve been cooking with stevia off and on for more than 15years," says Schulman. "At first, the taste was really off, and Iknow how some people tend to not like stevia due to the aftertaste.When I finally learned to only put in the tiniest of amounts, mylife with stevia as a sweetener changed." Milne, a Colorado Springs, Colo., woman who was diagnosed withbreast cancer in 1997, got hooked on stevia as a way to control hercraving for sweets and to maintain her weight during cancertreatment. "Breast cancer treatment causes you to gain weight, and Ididn’t want to gain weight." She went to a nutritionist for information on how to eat well andboost her energy without gaining weight during treatment. "One of the things she suggested was using liquid stevia. She hadme adding a few drops of it and chlorophyll to water for arefreshing beverage," Milne says. "After using stevia for severalweeks, you lose the craving for sugar and other sweets. I stilllike the drink and use powdered stevia sometimes on cereal." Stephanie Walizer, an herbal specialist at Sequoia Women Health& Healing in Colorado Springs, started using stevia about sevenyears ago. She uses it in cooking and baking and prefers the liquidor powder form. "I started using it because of my concern with a familypredisposition to diabetes and was looking for an alternativeanswer for sweet foods for my toddler. Stevia has a low glycemicindex and will not ‘spike’ your blood sugar." Waiting for research Despite such glowing reviews for stevia, it has yet to win approvalfrom the FDA, although it’s been used for years as aningredient in South America, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China andMalaysia without any reports of adverse health effects. And if a company with deep enough pockets could fund the necessaryresearch and present results to the FDA, there may be a chance thatstevia could be approved as a food ingredient. But because the FDA hasn’t OK’d it, several watchdogorganizations, including the American Dietetic Association, arereluctant to endorse it. "The FDA has not received sufficient scientific evidence to assurethat this substance can be safely used as a food additive," the ADAsays in a position paper on sweeteners. "Stevia can be sold as a‘dietary supplement’ and may be available in packetsthat resemble tabletop sweeteners. "Consumers should be informed that Stevia is not approved as anon-nutritive sweetener." The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a pit bull amongconsumer organizations, is equally cautious. "The USFDA has rejected stevia for use as a food additive. In sum,small amounts of stevia are probably safe, but it is inappropriateto endorse wide use of this sweetener," says Jeff Cronin, theorganization’s director of communications.

Here’s the rub in your spice cabinet

2008-06-10T09:29:29+02:00

There s a grilling treasure trove at your fingertips. All those individual spices and dried herbs sitting in your pantry have wonderful personalities. But put a bunch of them together, andwe re talking serious flavor party - in the form of dry season in grubs. Those fancy rubs that go for several dollars a crack in stores can be yours for a small fraction of that price. Nothing wrong with buying pre-made, but why not try your hand, using what s at hand ,with some of these combinations? First, a tip from "Barbecues 101" by Rick Rodgers: Seasoning rubs need to be moistened so that they don t scorch on the grill. You do that by first oiling the meat or fish or vegetable, then tossingthe rub with the food until it is evenly distributed. And another thing: Some of these recipes make larger quantities than you ll need for one dish. They ll keep indefinitely in thepantry. Store them in a cool, dark place or store them in thefreezer, as suggested by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison in"Born to Grill." ● All- Round Rub (from "Born to Grill"): Combine 6tablespoons paprika, 2 tablespoons each coarsely ground blackpepper and coarse salt, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 2 teaspoonspacked brown sugar and 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (red pepperoptional). Goes with anything. ● Cajun Rub (from "Barbecues 101"): Combine 2 tablespoonssweet paprika, 1 tablespoon each Dried Garlic Powder basil and dried thyme, 1teaspoon each garlic powder and onion powder,